The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are another chaotic era in which China coexisted after the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms. The Five Dynasties refer to the five short dynasties established in the Central Plains after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, namely Houliang , Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han , and Later Zhou. Ten countries refers to the ten surrounding countries. Except for Northern Han , the remaining nine are in the south. Today we will talk about these ten countries separately.
1. Yang Wu
Yang Wu (902-937), was one of the ten countries during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods. It was built by Yang Xingmi, and there were two capitals, namely the western capital Jinling Prefecture (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), and the eastern capital Jiangdu Prefecture (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu). He lived in the four masters and enjoyed the country for 35 years. If Yang Xingmi was appointed as the governor of Huainan in 892, it would take 46 years.
Yang Xingmi, the founder of Yang Wu, started his business in Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui), and relied on Gao Pian, the governor of Huainan. Later, the power gradually became stronger and occupied Yangzhou and expanded his territory. In August of the first year of Jingfu (892), he was appointed as the governor of Huainan, and then gradually annexed the warlords in the southeast. He only formed a confrontation with Qian Li, which dominated the two Zhejiang provinces. He was appointed King of Wu in the second year of Tianfu (902). By the time Yang Xingmi died in the second year of Tianyou (905), the Wu Kingdom had become the most powerful separatist force in the south. After Yang Xingmi's death, his son Yang Wo succeeded to the throne and was licentious and indulged. Minister Xu Wen launched a coup in 907 to seize power. The following year, he killed Yang Wo and made Yang Xingmi's second son Yang Longyan the main. From then on, Yang Wu was controlled by the Xu family. In 1919, Yang Long became the King of Wu. In 927, Xu Wen died, and his adopted son Xu Zhigao took over his position and supported Yang Pu, the younger brother of Yang Longyan, to be the emperor. In 935, Xu Zhigao ( Li Bian ) was named King of Qi. In 937, Yang Pu abdicated in Xu Zhigao, and Yang and Wu were then destroyed.
Yang Wu was the most powerful regime in the south in the early Five Dynasties. His territory covers the entire Jiangxi area, eastern Hubei, and Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. In addition, it also occupies a corner of Huaibei (now Lianyungang, Jiangsu), which is located in a prosperous place in the southeast.
Yang Wu controlled Huainan, Jiangnan, and no large-scale war occurred during this period. The handover with the Southern Tang Dynasty was also completed peacefully. It created a peaceful and stable political situation for the southeast, restored the economy that had been destroyed since the end of the Tang Dynasty, and laid the foundation for the prosperity of Jiangnan, Huainan, Northern Song Dynasty.
2. Southern Tang
Southern Tang (937-975) was a dynasty established by Li Bing in the Jiangnan region during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was established as Jiangning (now Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province). It was said that there was one emperor and two rulers in three generations. It had been the largest regime among the ten countries for 38 years.
In the seventh year of Taihe of Southern Wu (935), Emperor Rui of Southern Wu appointed Xu Zhigao as King of Qi, and assigned ten prefectures such as Shengzhou and Runzhou to Qi State. In 937, Xu Zhigao established Qi State (Xu Qi). In October of the same year, Xu Zhigao was appointed as the emperor by Zen, and his country was named "Qi". In 939, Xu Zhigao restored the surname Li, changed his name to Bing, and changed the country's name to "Tang", which is known in history as "Southern Tang". After Li Bing ascended the throne, he continued to protect the country and the people, and under relatively stable conditions, social production developed. Compared with the separatist countries at the same time, the Southern Tang Dynasty was strong; due to the development of imperial examinations and the establishment of schools, the culture was particularly prosperous.
945, the Southern Tang Dynasty took advantage of the civil turmoil in Fujian and sent troops to destroy Fujian and captured Wang Yanzheng. In 951, the Southern Tang Dynasty took advantage of the civil strife in Southern Chu and sent troops to destroy Chu, and Ma Xichong surrendered. But soon, the former land of Chu was captured by Zhou Xingfeng, and the Southern Tang Dynasty failed to consolidate the occupied land of Chu. In 958, Li Jing took the title of emperor, became the king of the country, and praised the ruler of the Later Zhou Dynasty. In 1971, Li Yu removed the title of "Tang" and changed it to "Jiangnan Kingdom Lord", and asked the Song court to abolish the court's court's court's courtesy of not directly calling his name, which was approved by Song Taizu . In 975, the Song army captured Jinling , Li Yu surrendered, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed.
3. Wuyue
Wuyue (907-978), was one of the ten countries during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the ruler was the Qian family of Lin'an. It was built by Qian Liu in the first year of Kaiping (907) of Houliang and established its capital in Hangzhou. Wuyue Kingdom successively honored the Central Plains dynasties such as the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou and Northern Song Dynasty as the Central Plains dynasties, and accepted their enthronement.
Before the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Qian Liu was loyal to Tang Dynasty ; after Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established Liang, he also praised Hou Liang, and thus obtained the titles of King Wu Yue and Marshal of the Military and Horse Capital from Hou Liang.After the Later Tang destroyed Liang, Qian Liu submitted a letter to the Later Tang Dynasty, not only won the title of King of Wu and Yue and Marshal of the World's Military and Horse Capital, but also received the jade book and gold seal to show his favor. Qian Liu, on the one hand, paid tribute to the Central Plains, but on the other hand, he served as the court. Its office not only called the court and subordinates the court, but also established its own reign title. There were three reign titles including Tianbao , Baoda, and Baozheng. It was not until his son Qian Yuanguan succeeded to the throne that he changed to the reign title of the Central Plains Dynasty. At the same time, he also had contacts with Silla, Bohai and other countries, and also made albums and awarded titles to them, just like the emperor of the Central Plains.
Since Qian Liu and Nanwu Tonghe, Wu Yue Kingdom has not had any major wars except for sending troops to Fujian twice. Among the ten countries, Wu and Yue were relatively stable. Qianli built the Qiantang River Shitang, and established the Dushui Camp, which was in charge of water conservancy, and specialized in river construction and embankment, and developed polder fields in the Taihu Lake area. Through these measures, domestic agricultural production can be developed.
Wu Yue had 13 prefectures when it was prosperous, which was about the entire territory of Zhejiang Province, southeastern Jiangsu Province (Suzhou City ), Shanghai and northeastern Fujian Province (Fuzhou City). Wu Yue Kingdom has been in the third dynasty and five kings. In the third year of Taiping Xingguo (978), Qian Hongchu, ", has landed and returned to Song ", and was established for the 72nd year. From the second year of Jingfu in the Tang Dynasty (893), Qian Liu became the governor of Zhenhai Army, and survived for 86 years before and after his demise, it was the longest place in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
4. Nan Chu
Nan Chu (907-951), one of the ten southern countries during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods. It is the only regime established in history with Hunan as the center. It is known in history as Ma Chu, with Tanzhou (now Changsha) as its capital. Since , Ma Yin and were granted the title of King of Chu in 907, the Southern Chu has been 44 years. If Ma Yin separatisted Hunan in 896, it will be 56 years.
The founder of Southern Chu was Ma Yin, a man from Yanling, Xuzhou (now Yanling, Henan). In the third year of Qianning (896), Ma Yin arrived in Changsha. Since he stayed for Wu'an, the Tang Dynasty appointed him as the governor of Tanzhou and the judge of the Hunan Military Prefecture. In 897, Emperor Zhaozong of Tang appointed Ma Yin as the governor of Wu'an Army. He conquered one by one and eliminated the separatist forces in Hunan and unified Hunan. In the first year of Kaiping in the Later Liang Dynasty (907), Zhu Wen granted Ma Yin the King of Chu. In the second year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (927), Chu State was established, and Tanzhou was the capital and renamed Changsha Prefecture. In politics, Ma Yin calmed the army internally and defened the powerful vassals outside, which enabled the social economy to develop rapidly. In 930, Ma Yin died and left his sons and brothers one after another. Ma Xisheng immediately succeeded to the throne. Xisheng was extravagant. After Ma Xifan ascended the throne for a long time, there was a struggle between brothers and the Ma Chu regime had slowly declined. In 947, Xifan died, and the Ma brothers fought one after another, and Hunan was in chaos. In 951, the Southern Tang took the opportunity to send general Bian Hao to capture Changsha, while the Southern Chu was destroyed.
Nanchu has 1 prefecture, 1 supervisory authority, 27 prefectures, namely 29 prefectures, prefectures, and supervisory authority. Leading County 106. It has five towns including Wu'an, Wuping and Jingjiang, namely the entire territory of Hunan and most of Guangxi, eastern Guizhou and northern Guangdong. At the beginning of the founding of the country, Nan Chu pursued the policy of "supremembering the emperor". Except for Ma Xi'e, who praised the Southern Tang Dynasty, the rest recognized the five dynasties as the sect leader countries.
On the one hand, Nanchu made full use of local resources and developed a social economy dominated by agriculture. On the other hand, it advocates education and inherits and develops Hunan culture.
5. Fujian
Fujian (909-945), one of the ten countries in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and successively established capitals in Changyuefu (now Fuzhou, Fujian) and Jianzhou (now Jianou, Fujian). The ruling area is roughly the same as that of today's Fujian Province.
Founding Monarch Wang Shenzhi civilians. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, he followed his brother Wang Chao to capture Fujian. After Wang Chao died, he took over Fujian.
909, Wang Shenzhi was named Minwang by Houliang. In the third year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty (925), Wang Shenzhi died, and his eldest son Wang Yanhan succeeded to the throne. In 927, Wang Shenzhi's second son, Wang Yanjun, killed Wang Yanhan and seized the throne. He became emperor in 933 and established the capital Changyuefu (Fuzhou), with the year name Longqi . After that, the domestic chaos in Fujian continued. In 945, the Southern Tang Dynasty sent troops to attack and destroy it during the civil unrest in Fujian.
Wang Shenzhi is an important historical figure in the development of Fujian society. He has made great contributions to Fujian's history and enjoyed a very high reputation. He is called "国国国国国 ".
6, Nanping
Nanping (924-963), also known as Jingnan and Beichu , is a separatist force established by Gao Jixing , and is one of the ten countries during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The capital of Nanping is Jingzhou , which governs the three prefectures of Jing, Gui (now Zigui, Hubei) and Xia (now Yichang, Hubei). The five kings of the calendar had a total of 39 years and had never been called emperor.
In the first year of Kaiping, Hou Liang (907), Gao Jixing served as the governor of Jingnan. At that time, the 10 states under Nanping were captured by neighboring roads, and only Jiangling was the city. After Gao Jixing took office, he recruited refugees, and the people gradually resumed their careers. He also recruited some civil and military officers as assistance, secretly preparing for separatist rule. In the second year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty (924), he was named King of Nanping by the Later Tang Dynasty and established his capital in Jingzhou (now Jiangling, Hubei), which was known in history as Nanping or Jingnan. After the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the Former Shu, Gao Jixing was granted the two prefectures of Gui and Xia. He originally wanted to seize Kui, Zhong, Wan and other states, but he was defeated by the Later Tang Dynasty and gave up.
Although Nanping is narrow and weak, it is a key transportation between the north and the south. At that time, Nanhan , Fujian and Chu all respected the people to Houliang, and every year the tribute was all for the journey to Nanping. Therefore, Gao Jixing invited envoys to rob his property, and went to the Southern Han, Fujian and Chu to proclaim their emperors. Gao's family made the emperors and the north and the south to claim the rewards. Therefore, they were regarded as "Gao Laizi" by the countries.
Nanping is located in Jiangling, Hubei Province, and the capital was established in Jiangling (now Jingzhou, Hubei Province). His son Gao Conghui was reborn, and later passed through Gao Baorong and Gao Baoxu until the fifth lord Gao Jichong, and surrendered in the first year of Qiande (963) of Taizu of Song Dynasty.
7. Qianshu
Qianshu (907-925), one of the ten countries in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In 907, it was built by Wang Jian and established its capital in Chengdu (now Chengdu City, Sichuan Province). During the prosperous period, the territory of the Former Shu was approximately most of today's Sichuan, southeastern Gansu, southern Shaanxi, and western Hubei.
Wang Jian was born into a civilian. He was not doing his job properly when he was young. Later, he joined the army and became one of Yang Fuguang's eight capitals of Zhongwu. He had great military achievements against Huang Chao's army. Later, he was appreciated by the eunuch Tian Lingzi and accepted it as his adopted son. He gradually became an officer of the imperial guards. Later, he served as the governor of Bizhou and Lizhou in Sichuan, gradually expanded his power and occupied the entire Shu area. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, he became enemies with him and became emperor in 907. After death, he passed down his son Wang Yan , he was debauchery and injustice.
925, later Tang Zhuangzong Li Cunxu sent troops to attack Qian Shu, Wang Yan surrendered, and Qian Shu was destroyed. The two rulers of the former Shu calendar, totaling 18 years.
8, Hou Shu
Hou Shu (934-966), also known as Meng Shu , is one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The regime established by Meng Zhixiang , established its capital in Chengdu. At its peak, the territory was approximately most of today's Sichuan, southeastern Gansu, southwestern Shaanxi, and western Hubei. Its territory is smaller than that of Fore Shu, and the Eastern and Northern lines are the most significant. The east retreated from Xiangyang to Chongqing, and the north retreated from Ganzhou to Guangyuan .
925, the Later Tang conquered Former Shu. Soon, the Central Plains was in chaos, and Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, was killed, and Li Siyuan, seized the throne. Meng Zhixiang, who was the deputy envoy of Xichuan Jiedu at that time, trained soldiers to secede Shu, quell the civil strife, and rectify the administration of the government, and Chengdu was at peace. After the chaos in the Central Plains ended, Li Siyuan, the Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, appointed Meng Zhixiang as the governor of Xichuan. In the fourth year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (933), Meng Zhixiang was also appointed as King of Shu. The following year, Meng Zhixiang founded the country in Chengdu and became emperor. His reign was Mingde and his country was named Shu, which was known in history as Later Shu. Meng Zhixiang's son Meng Chang was very capable of striving for governance, and wars rarely occurred in the territory. He was a relatively developed economic and cultural area during the Five Dynasties period and maintained peace for more than 30 years.
In November of the second year of Qiande in the Northern Song Dynasty (964), Song Taizu sent troops to attack Houshu. In January of the following year, Meng Chang surrendered to the Song Dynasty and died in the same year. In 966, the Northern Song Dynasty pacified all local resistance.
9. Southern Han
Southern Han (917-971), was one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. It is located in the current three provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. It has been with four emperors and has a 55th year of national reign. Dating back to the second year of Tianyou, Tang Dynasty, Liu Yin officially served as the governor of Qinghai, the Liu family rule has existed for 67 years. It is the second local separatist regime established in Lingnan history after the Nanyue Kingdom .
In the late Tang Dynasty, Liu Qian served as the governor of Fengzhou (now Fengkai County, Guangdong Province), with more than 100 troops and more than 100 warships.After Liu Qian's death, Liu Yin inherited his father's position, gradually unified Lingnan, and promoted to the position of the governor of Qinghai Jiedu. The back was named King of South China Sea. Liu Yin recruited scholars who fled south of the Central Plains and remained in the shogunate. The two prefectures of Xin and Yong were merged with more than 70 villages in Pingjiang East, and the Guangzhou City was expanded by carved with Yushan , which was called Xincheng, and double gulfs were built in the city. He became a powerful vassal in Lingnan. After Liu Yin's death, his brother Liu Ban attacked the seal. Relying on his father and brother's foundation in Lingnan, Liu Ban proclaimed himself emperor in Panyu (now Guangzhou, Guangdong) in the third year of Zhenming in the Later Liang Dynasty (917), and changed Guangzhou to Xingwangfu , and the country was named Dayue. In November of the following year, the country was changed to Han, known as the Southern Han Dynasty in history, and later changed its name to Liu Ban, known as the Southern Han Dynasty in history as the Gaozu of Southern Han . After the establishment of the Southern Han Dynasty, the founding of the country was based on the Tang system, and the establishment of central institutions such as three provinces and six ministries were established to open statutory examinations and select scholars. The literati and royal kings served as governors, weakening the power of the square town and gradually destroying the square town system. Make good neighbors to the outside world and encourage trade and the country's strength is becoming increasingly prosperous and strong.
During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Southern Han, the Southern Han took advantage of the Southern Tang Dynasty to destroy Chu, and decided to Yi, Lian, Wu, Yan, Fu, Zhao, Liu, Gong, Xiang and other prefectures, and the Southern Han Dynasty began to have all the lands in Lingnan. The administrative division of the Southern Han Dynasty basically inherited the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. The Southern Han Dynasty promoted Guangzhou to the Xingwang Mansion and served as the capital. In the late Southern Han Dynasty, the entire territory had a total of 60 prefectures and 214 counties.
In order to collect taxes and suppress the resistance of the people, the rulers abused torture, and the people could not bear the suffering. The rulers of the Southern Han Dynasty were also close to eunuchs, which led to the eunuchs' power gradually growing and participating in the government. In 971, it was destroyed by Zhao Kuangyin, the Northern Song Dynasty.
10, Northern Han
Northern Han (951-979) was one of the ten countries in the Five Dynasties and the last regime among the ten countries. The capital is Jinyang (now Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province). The territory is twelve states, and its location is roughly in the central and northern Shanxi Province today. The Liao Dynasty, which was established by the Northern Han Dynasty, was later destroyed by the Northern Song Dynasty. He served the four emperors for a total of 28 years.
950, Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty (Liu Chengyou) was suspicious of the general Guo Wei, and actually left Guo Wei's family in Kaifeng to destroy the family. He also sent someone to assassinate Guo Wei who was leading troops outside to fight. However, the assassin was Guo Wei's confidant and revealed the whole story to Guo Wei. Guo Wei, who had no ambition and ideological preparation, was forced to rebel and set off in Yedu (now northeast of Daming, Hebei).
The Emperor Yin was killed in the next year. Guo Wei proclaimed himself emperor and established the Later Zhou Dynasty. Later The younger brother of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Zhiyuan, was the governor of Hedong and the governor of Taiyuan, and Liu Chong, also called himself emperor according to the twelve prefectures of Hedong. He still used the title of the Later han Dynasty, which was known in history as the Northern Han Dynasty. The Northern Han Dynasty was the only regime in the north among the ten countries.
979, Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty Zhao Guangyi led his army to personally conquer the Northern Han Dynasty. The Song army first defeated the Liao army supporting the Northern Han Dynasty, and then attacked Jinyang City fiercely. The Northern Han Emperor Liu Jiyuan surrendered, and the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed. Emperor Taizong of Song deeply felt that Jinyang was a place where emperors and dragons rose since ancient times, and the terrain was dangerous, with a high city and deep pools, which were easy to defend and difficult to attack, so he ordered the destruction of Jinyang City.
What do you know about the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms? Welcome to discuss in the comment section!
Share more valuable content, don’t forget to follow @Rongyi Reading
(picture from the Internet)
